Opinions about Yixing pots wanted: Benefits vs. Price Point?

[Salsero]

I hope you didn't think my post was a refutation of yours. ... still using them today, 20 years later. I think that's good value, no?

Not the slightest offended, but I do still have barely a tenth of your 20 years experience.

That is indeed excellent value. Where did you find yixing teapots 20 years ago?

[Tead Off]

I hope you didn't think my post was a refutation of yours. ... still using them today, 20 years later. I think that's good value, no?

Not the slightest offended, but I do still have barely a tenth of your 20 years experience.

That is indeed excellent value. Where did you find yixing teapots 20 years ago?

Hong Kong. Every high quality tea shop I went into had a selection. I knew nothing back then except a Lipton's tea bag and masala chai. Luckily, the shop I eventually settled on/in, steered me in the right direction. Qualilty was their main focus in both tea and teaware.

In 20 years, there are teas I never got into. Oolongs have been my focus. I know little about Japanese teas and Puerh, although I've been dabbling in Puerhs of late thanks to oldmanteapot. The world of tea is too big for me to spread my time. Oolongs themselves are actually enough for me to be happy with forever. But, the discovery of Japanese greens is something that I will mix in to my drinking habits.

Just to expand the conversation a bit, I believe I read a thread on Puerh selection where Wyardley said he thought his time and money best spent buying the best Puerh he could afford, or something to that effect. I agree 100% with this pov. How can one know what a good Puerh is if they don't try something great. You cannot have a point of reference without it. Even if it is a sample that costs quite a bit, at least it can be a starting point. Starting with cheaper/lower quality teas doesn't teach you anything. Is Lipton's better than Twining's? This is how I feel about teapots. A gaiwan never taught me anything. It's a dead piece of equipment like glass. Unfortunately, many clay teapots being presently made are also dead so using a gaiwan may even be better. Learning how to brew tea may only be a matter of trial and error, but, it will taste better in a high quality clay teapot.

I wonder if there are any yixing companies publicly traded in China.

[TIM]

...Just to expand the conversation a bit, I believe I read a thread on Puerh selection where Wyardley said he thought his time and money best spent buying the best Puerh he could afford, or something to that effect. I agree 100% with this pov. How can one know what a good Puerh is if they don't try something great. ....

One thing that I've learn so far about oolong and puerh is, there is always something better once I've tasted the most expensive and most amazing in one moment of time... the Strong coincidences on my tea passage never fault me questioning more.

[Tead Off]

Tim,

I would put it a different way. Discovering a great tea opens the possibility to discovering other great teas. On that level, I don't try to rank any of them. I just begin appreciating the differences. When I say a great TGY, it surely isn't the only great TGY.

The reason I threw in price is because most if not all the great Puerhs are expensive and hard to find. All of the Puerh drinkers I've talked with insist that the teas don't get really good for 20 years or more, (generally speaking)! To this day, I've never had a great Puerh, not that I've tried to track down and buy something great. But, I see that I am going to have to do it because most of the teas that get discussed in the Puerh threads are not great, IMO. I'm sure you have had those great Puerhs and know the difference just like I've tasted great oolongs and know quality when I taste it.

Now, find me something better than a zhuni for brewing oolongs!

[TIM]

Interesting Tead off - what are the reasons that zhuni is good for oolong, and which kind of oolong are you talking about?

[t4texas]

Very cheap pot HERE that looks pretty nice. I'm tempted to get one myself.

Am I missing some obvious defect? I suppose you could email Scott to ask what gives.

At that price you could get a gaiwan and some of his quite respectable (and also bargain priced) Big Red Robe yan cha oolong.

I have what appears to be a similar looking one from ChineseTeapotGallery on eBay. May be slip cast and/or dipped, or thrown on a wheel and then dipped. Not sure. I think it is a good value for the price, but I don't think it will do anything significant for brewing tea. It's okay, but with a little more to spend, I would suggest the smallest DHP teapot, about 100 - 110 ml, maybe $55 shipped.

[Tead Off]

Interesting Tead off - what are the reasons that zhuni is good for oolong, and which kind of oolong are you talking about?

Zhuni is a very iron rich ore. It has a high shrinkage rate in the kiln. It was an ore not easily mined, located between stratas. People claim that the processing of this clay was a closely guarded secret and has been lost. I can't verify that statement, though. It's effect on oolong teas is noticeable. I can taste the difference in High Mountain Oolongs from Taiwan and Fujian oolongs, Taiwanese being my preference.
I believe it is the high iron content, 10-20% by various claims, that produces the effect on tea. I only know it works by experience.

I have also brewed very good Taiwan oolong in zisha pots (natural purple clay) in spite of what Hojo says about purple pots not being good for green oolongs.

You have probably read Billy Moods Yixing pages. He gives exhaustive commentary.

[Salsero]

Well, I succumbed to Scott's sensuous commentary on the "Jade Pillar" zhu ni pot, purportedly completely handmade by Wang Jianying, a 4th generation descendant of Fan Dasheng. Of course, I never heard of either of them!

After reading Tead Off's comments, I think I will dedicate it to gao shan. Generally I like Taiwan tea from cups that should match the size of this pot nicely.

I also ordered one of the $12.50 Saturday Night Specials ... just couldn't pass it up!

[Tead Off]

Well, I succumbed to Scott's sensuous commentary on the "Jade Pillar" zhu ni pot, purportedly completely handmade by Wang Jianying, a 4th generation descendant of Fan Dasheng. Of course, I never heard of either of them!

After reading Tead Off's comments, I think I will dedicate it to gao shan. Generally I like Taiwan tea from cups that should match the size of this pot nicely.

I also ordered one of the $12.50 Saturday Night Specials ... just couldn't pass it up!

At least you will have something lovely to look at! Be sure to let us know how it brews that Taiwan gaoshan.

[tingjunkie]

Well, I succumbed to Scott's sensuous commentary on the "Jade Pillar" zhu ni pot

Grrrr. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on that one too! If only it were 20ml smaller! I am also intrigued by the 130ml Da Hong Pao (sp?) teapot going for $55 on the site by the same artisan. Not as many people seem to have experience with DHP clay for me to gain much of a knowledge base about it though.

[t4texas]

Well, I succumbed to Scott's sensuous commentary on the "Jade Pillar" zhu ni pot

Grrrr. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on that one too! If only it were 20ml smaller! I am also intrigued by the 130ml Da Hong Pao (sp?) teapot going for $55 on the site by the same artisan. Not as many people seem to have experience with DHP clay for me to gain much of a knowledge base about it though.

A search will turn up a long topic on the dhp pots. It's worth reading. This is not the historic dhp clay, but a modern substitute. My pot has been terrific for tgy.

[Salsero]

If only it were 20ml smaller!

Size does count ... for me at least, a lot more than it seems it should.

[Tead Off]

I often use a larger pot and do not fill it up. I have a 240ml zhuni pot that I fill half way or so with water. Brews great. Maybe it allows the leaves to open up fully and extract more flavor? I only know it works.

I'm very interested to hear how these DHP pots brew. For that price, it's worth trying out. At least you get a good looking pot.

[Salsero]

I just tried a shan lin xi oolong in a half-full zhuni pot I got got from Nada, and it seems to work quite nicely. This is a old photo of the pot with a different tea in it.



Here it is with a different tea-

[TokyoB]

I often use a larger pot and do not fill it up. I have a 240ml zhuni pot that I fill half way or so with water. Brews great. Maybe it allows the leaves to open up fully and extract more flavor? I only know it works.

Tead Off - is that considered unusual or somewhat commonly done in China? Just curious...

Also, is there any way to tell from looking at a pot that it is made from zhuni clay?